Entertaining

» Robert Dailey - Yum!

Janice,
I have been cooking turduckens for years on Thanksgiving and the family loves it.
The turducken, is a deboned chicken, stuffed into a deboned, domestic duck, which is then stuffed into a deboned turkey. Any remaining cavities are then stuffed with various types of dressing, including cornbread dressing.
The originator of the turducken is Hebert Specialty Meats (the Wall Street Journal did a front page story on them a little over a decade ago). Hebert Specialty Meats was a tiny little meat market in Maurice, La., a small town of about 1,000 people, located between Lafayette and Abbeville.
After the WSJ article, the tiny little family owned and run meat market began expanding, and now has outlets in several southern cities.
You can also order frozen turduckens from them on their website: http://www.hebertsmeats.com
They offer a variety of things, including their famous "run-over chicken," which is a deboned chicken stuffed with crawfish etouffe, pork, eggplant and rice dressing, "dirty" rice, or other stuffings. They offer stuffed pork and beef roasts, as well as other great (and traditional) Acadian (Cajun) dishes (like crawfish pie..yes, that's real too and unbelieveably delicious).

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» Georgene A. Bramlage - Yum!

In response to Yum! posted by bobcajun:
Bob and all,

Maybe it is the simplistic New England Polish peasant in me, but ever since I learned about "turduckens" and their ilk, I've thought these products are a bit "over the top" and my stomach goans to think of eating them

However, to each their own...I'm glad your family enjoys them and you are willing to cook them.

Now...the "crawfish" sounds pretty interesting to me...use to catch "crawdads" in Ohio when I was a youngster...just for the heck of it! Glad to know someone figured out what to do with these scavengers.

Georgene

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» Robert Dailey - Yum!

In response to Yum! posted by Cercis:

Georgene:
Crawfish are merely freshwater crustaceans, and they grow very large in the south (about the size of freshwater prawns, or large Gulf shrimp, which are also scavengers). The Acadians, being poor and isolated, "created" many foods that were not normally eaten. Fifty years ago, no one except Acadians would admit to eating the lowly crawfish. Now, much of the crawfish (or crayfish)caught or farm-raised in the south are shipped to Europe and the East Coast(for consumption). Crawfish are also a big export of China.
Crawfish etouffee is a wonderful (and quite delicate) dish combining crawfish, butter, onions, bell peppers, a little salt and pepper and a little garlic and sauteeing these ingredients. It is generally served over rice (not Uncle Ben's but that sticky, oriental-type rice. Crawfish pie is also a wonderful dish, made famous by country singer Hank Williams, but created several centuries ago by imaginative Acadian cooks.
I made some crawfish pie for a rather large holiday party at my home in Santa Fe. No one there was Acadian (except me and my wife), and most were transplants from the Midwest. The crawfish pie went first (in a flash). Gallons of crawfish gumbo were also consumed. The chicken and sausage gumbo and the "American" food were the last to go.
The turducken may sound a litle over the top, but the three meats, along with the spices and seasonings, make a wonderful melange of taste.
I prefer mine with cornbread-oyster dressing and some cranberry sauce (with real cranberries...not that jelly stuff).
Add some new potatoes cooked in cream (actually a German dish generally eaten with saurbraten), a fresh green bean casserole with mushrooms, a sweet potato crunch, a few irresistable deserts and voila...stuffed people.

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» Janice Benoit - Yum!

In response to Yum! posted by bobcajun:

Bob:

Thanks for your turducken details --- I must admit that you're the first person I've met that has actually eaten turducken. Like Georgene said -- it sounds a little over the top for me too!

I have, however, enjoyed dining near Lafayette, LA during crawfish season, and loved your discussion of Acadian/Cajun food.

Janice

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» Robert Dailey - Yum!

In response to Yum! posted by Soup2Nuts:

We Acadians do tend to be a little over the top, but it does fit well with our character.

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» Georgene A. Bramlage - Yum!

In response to Yum! posted by bobcajun:
Now...I can say "Yum" to your descritpion of the Cajun buffet I think I might have enjoyed that one.

And the description of some of the other foods you like to eat (and I guess prepare) are also right at the top of my list.

One item we (husband and I) make a lot of is a spiced cranberry relish (with a little bit of fresh orange) with good old MA cranberries

Actually, I didn't realize you are Cajun

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» Robert Dailey - Yum!

In response to Yum! posted by Cercis:

The cranberry relish sounds fantastic. You wouldn't have a recipe, would you?
Yes, I am Acadian. Literally born on the bayou (the little hospital was built on pilings ovfer the bayou.)
My older sister's first language was French, but, seeing that French wasn't allowed to be spoken in schools back then, my parents taught me English first.
My father was second generation Irish (lots of Irish, Italians and German Catholics in south La.) but my culture is Acadian.

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